The present invention relates to a holder for discs, and, more particularly, to a holder for compact audio discs which can be operated with one hand.
Compact disc players are relatively new devices for recording and playing music. They provide high quality audio output, and combine that output with a small size, and so are becoming increasingly popular for use in applications where a small size is of particular desirability. One such application is in automobiles.
Placing compact disc players in automobiles has given rise to a problem, however, namely providing holders or cases for compact discs which may be opened easily with one hand by a driver while driving. Conventional holders for compact discs comprise a shallow flat box formed of two hinged flat portions. The bottom half portion has a gripping spindle at its center for gripping a hole at the center of the disc. The disc is retained within a circular recess in the bottom half portion and gripped by the gripping spindle to prevent movement. The top half portion is simply a lid hinged to the bottom half portion.
The drawback of such conventional compact disc holders is that they are quite difficult to open with one hand, and it is also difficult to remove the compact disc from the holder once it is opened. Both difficulties stem from the fact that the conventional holder is, in sum, nothing more than a hinged box, in which the compact disc is retained.
To remove the disc from this conventional holder, it is necessary to open the lid manually and remove the disc from the gripping spindle. Such handling can be cumbersome to negotiate with one hand, and usually results in smudging the surface of the disc. While the lasers used to play the discs are capable of reading through a smudge mark, accumulations of dirt and grime on the disc may lead to its eventual corrosion or deterioration, so that it is desirable to minimize manual handling of the disc.
If a driver is driving his car, and wishes to play a compact disc on a compact disc player, he must, while keeping one hand on the wheel, flip open the hinge of the holder and remove therefrom the compact disc. Due to the manner in which the compact disc is retained in the holder, this can be difficult to negotiate while driving.
Thus, there is a need for a compact disc holder which can be easily opened with one hand, and from which a compact disc may be easily removed with one hand, and preferably ejected directly into the compact disc player.
Additionally, the conventional hinged box-type compact disc holder has no affirmative latching mechanism, so that the holder, if dropped, may fall open and thereby permit the compact disc to slip therefrom. When driving, this may be a particular problem, since the driver will tend to keep his eyes on the road, rather than on the operation of the holder. Any mishandling of the holder, such as dropping it, could lead to the slippage therefrom of the compact disc. Thus, there is a further need for a compact disc holder which may be affirmatively latched, to prevent any undesired release of the compact disc.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a compact disc holder which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.
It is another object of the invention to provide a compact disc holder which contains an ejector mechanism for ejecting a contained disc, the ejector mechanism being actuated in a one-handed operation.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a compact disc holder of the character described in which the disc is stored in a suspended position between the top and bottom walls of the holder so that the playing surfaces of the disc do not engage the inner surfaces of the holder.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a compact disc holder of the character described in which a stored disc is securely retained from movement therein until it is affirmatively released therefrom by depression of a protruding button which drives the ejector mechanism.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a compact disc holder of the character described which is adapted to eject a contained disc directly into the slot of a disc player by merely manually pressing the disc holder against the surface of the disc player adjacent said slot.